Jenna Allsworth
A hand-written letter is more than just words on a page. The fact that someone actually took the time out of his or her day to sit down and write a letter to someone is a very personal and meaningful act. When texting or online messaging someone, there is a sort of disconnect between you and what you are trying to say to that particular person. By writing it down, your thoughts are connecting the pen to paper and making it much more personal. No one letter is alike. We all have different handwriting and styles of writing that make each letter unique and distinct to the person who has written it. I much more prefer receiving a letter in the mail as opposed to a quick text. In most cases, it is much more polite to send someone a letter rather than emailing or texting them because it shows you put more thought and consideration into what you’re trying to say. For instance, sending a thank you note means a lot more if you have taken your time and written it out rather than texting a “thank you” that could have potentially been typed out by anyone. Any two texts can look exactly the same, while no two letters can look alike.
In my case, I wrote a letter to a very good friend that passed away a few months ago from a disease called Cystic Fibrosis. Even though she would have never had gotten the opportunity to read it, the letter is more for me than for anyone else. It is my way of expressing my thoughts and feelings, and in a way, it helps me heal. When I wrote my letter for my friend, I felt as if she was looking down on me from Heaven, and reading the letter. It gives me a sense of mind, and it feels much more personal to have written it with my own hands rather that meaninglessly typing it away on a keyboard. When I was younger, I used to have a pen pal and we would write letters back and forth between one another. We did it mostly because it was a fun way to keep in touch and it was always so exciting to finally get that letter in the mail. We would decorate the letter with markers and stickers, and any other way that would make the letters very unique to us. While emails and text messages may be difficult to keep forever, a letter you can be sure to always be able to keep and is something that can actually be held with your own two hands. Writing a hand-written letter to someone may appear as a dying art, but due to its meaning and significance, I believe hand-written letters will live on forever.
My Journal 1 Entry
My Journal 2 Entry
To create our vines, my three partners and I agreed on a meeting time so we could help one another film, act, and contribute ideas towards making our individual vines. When we met, we each had an idea of what we wanted to do for our videos. We told one another what we wrote about for our writing segments, and based off of that, we then brainstormed ideas on how to create our vine videos. One of my segments of writing was about how I had a diary when I was younger. I specifically remember writing personal details that were important to my life and I, and then I walked away for a few minutes with my diary left open on my chair. When I returned, I found my brother reading my diary. So based off of that, I created my vine relating to writing in my diary. I first show “My Diary” and me writing in it, and then I walk away for a bit to return to catch “my brother” snooping and reading it. When I would write in my diary, it was a very personal experience for me because I would write down my deepest and darkest secrets that I did not want anyone to know about. I tried to show the violation of my diary through the use of the vine video. When producing my vine, I considered making sure the video showed different clips as opposed to just one long constant video taking up the full six seconds. My partners and I had to make sure we made the point of our videos clear by still remaining within the six second cut-off.
My Journal 3 Entry
(Click my handwritten letter to enlarge it)
All around town, and throughout the country, Priority Mail Stickers from USPS can be seen stuck around at the most random places. They usually have images or writings on them that are trying to get a specific message across to the public. These stickers can be most likely to be seen in more urban areas rather that rural. These signify someone who wants their voice to be heard, or their artwork to be appreciated. Some people may even do it for pure fun. I created my own 10 mail stickers that each had a meaning a significance to me, even if it may not have any meaning to someone else. I used my opinions, strong beliefs, hobbies, and the beauty around me to create these mail stickers.
My Refelction:
My Journal 4 Entry
For my fourth journal entry, I made an audacity file to personally narrate a specific event in my life that defines who I am today. I discuss the time I met my best friends when we moved in across the street from them, and the impact they have had on me as an individual.
My Journal 5 Entry
While I was walking back to my dorm room, I entered the parking lot behind my dorm and found a small piece of paper folded into a square in the dirt. I had just left English class so the project of finding a letter of some sort was still fresh in my mind. I decided to pick it up and read it. What I found was some girl’s to-do list. I think I can safely assume it’s a sorority girl’s letter because she writes that on Saturday she has to go to a sorority reveal. Honestly, I sort of found this to-do list funny to read. I’m naturally a nosy person so I also found this interesting to see what this girl had to do for the week. For her three first items on the list that I am assuming are school related, she states that she “*Needs that A, yo!*” Another thing on her to-do list that I found interesting was that she made a note to “Photoshop More!” …but only on Wednesdays. She also had to remind herself to change her sheets, then wash those sheets. Then on Thursday, she is going to the Catching Fire Premiere, and on Friday she is “Shopping @ the Mall w/ Marci”! This to-do list does not have much significance to it other than the fact that I found it slightly humorous how the girl wrote in her private to-do list. I was drawn to it because I am curious as to what other people’s weeks consist of compared to mine. Too bad she lost her to-do list; and I hope whoever she is that she can remember everything on it!
(Click on the image to enlarge it)
Click the PLAY BUTTON to listen to my Audacity file
